


Don't Say That, Don't Even Think It

by CJ_fics



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Self-Defense Lessons, olicity - Freeform, unestablished relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 12:37:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2851058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_fics/pseuds/CJ_fics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity takes self-defense lessons. Oliver finds out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Say That, Don't Even Think It

Felicity had a very exhausting but very satisfying morning. Muscles she didn’t know she had were aching, and all she wanted to do now was to reward herself with a Big Belly Burger. If only Marco would get his ass moving and finish showering so he could buy her that burger he owed her. He promised that he was buying lunch today, if she managed to pin him, and she did — twice!  
  
After three months of self-defense lessons with Marco Plou, an ex-Marine associate of Digg, Felicity was feeling results. Already, her arm and leg muscles were tighter and starting to have that cut look to them. Her reflexes were much better now as well. Marco used a combination of Martial Arts to train her, believing that over-reliance on just one style of self-defense would be less effective. Today, they had trained using Krav Maga and Aikido moves. The weekend before, Judo and Muay Thai.  
  
As a result, thrice a week, Felicity worked different sets of muscles as she gained the necessary skills in order to defend herself. She knows that she will never be the kind of person who would go for the physical fighting solution by default. No, first and foremost, she knew that she would rely on her brains not on her body in the face of danger. But there was nothing wrong with being prepared, in case she had use her body to defend herself and people that she cares about. After all, it’s not everyday that a van would be available to her to make a super-powered fighter stop beating up her teammate and friend.  
  
Also, she was sick of being a liability to the team, and to Oliver. Her defenselessness was no longer acceptable. So Felicity being Felicity, she took steps to rectify that.   
  
Ergo, she spent two hours every Monday evening, early Wednesday morning, and mid-morning Saturdays training with Marco Plou and his partner, Trevor Higgs in their training studio three blocks away from her townhouse. They were recommended by Digg when she told him that she wanted to beef up her self-defense skills and refused to take away his precious time from Lyla and their two-month old little girl, Angela.  
  
"Hey, Felicity," Trevor walks into the studio. He’s a tall, leanly-muscled, African American man. Like Marco, he’s ex-Marine. "Marc not done with his shower?"  
  
"Nope, I swear, he takes longer than I do," she responds with a good-natured smile.  
  
"It takes a lot to look this good, missy," Marco says from shower door. Marco is half Japanese-Brazilian and American. Unlike his partner, he’s built like a linebacker. "But I owe you lunch, so let’s go."  
  
"Did she pin you?" Trevor asks, excitedly.  
  
"Twice!" Felicity says, skipping on her way to the door, "I pinned the great Marco Plou, twice, my friend. Next Monday, your ass is mine! And you’re buying me dinner."   
  
Felicity opens the door as she finishes her statement and Trevor says, “You’re on, Ms. Smoak.”  
  
Marco laughs and shakes his head as his follows Felicity and Trevor out, “She pins me twice today … and now she’s getting cocky, Trev. I think we should up the wager. Maybe—”  
  
"She what?" a voice growls from the sidewalk near the studio entrance.  
  
Trevor and Marco tense up, immediately on high alert.  
  
"Oliver!" Felicity exclaims, surprised. _Uh-oh. Dammit._ Then she notices who Oliver is with, “Hi, Laurel.”  
  
Laurel gives her a small wave and opens her mouth to return her greeting when Oliver questions, “What’s this, Felicity?”  
  
"Oh, right. Marco Plou, Trevor Higgs, meet Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance. Oliver, Laurel, these are Marco and Trevor, they own this training studio," Felicity responds, putting a hand on Marco’s and Trevor’s arms.  
  
"Training studio for what?" Oliver insists. He keeps his eyes on Felicity, who is looking nervous.  
  
"Self-defense," Marco answers, extending his hand to Oliver. Oliver glances at Marco to shake his hand, and then shakes Trevor’s hand.  
  
"We do several styles," Trevor adds, shaking Laurel’s hand, "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Well, now that that’s all cleared up," Felicity says in a forced bright voice, clapping her hands once, before she realises that that gesture was very odd, "We should go!"  
  
"Where?" Oliver asks, his eyes back on Felicity.  
  
Marco and Trevor are looking at each other sideways, confused. Laurel has a resigned look on her face.  
  
"Marco owes me lunch. Big Belly. The biggest burger I can have. With bacon — don’t tell my mother! So, yeah, bye," Felicity says in a rush, turning away and walking in the direction of the diner.  
  
"Felicity," Oliver stops her with a hand on her arm.  
  
She turns to look at him, “Yes?” _Please Oliver, let’s not do this._  
  
He looks her in the eye, “I’ll see you later.” _This is not over._  
  
She sighs. _I know._  
  
————————————-  
  
Ten minutes after she comes back to her townhouse after lunch at Big Belly Burger, which wasn’t as satisfying as she had hoped it would be because she was nervous about the impending conversation with Oliver, her doorbell rings.  
  
 _Really, Oliver?_ she thinks, sighing. _So impatient._  
  
She opens the door to let him in.   
  
"Why?" he asks as soon as the door is closed behind him.  
  
"Well, hello to you, too, Oliver," she snorts, making her way to her kitchen. He follows.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why, what?" she retorts, opening the fridge to get a glass of orange juice. _The nerve of this guy! As if she owed him any explanation about things she did in her limited personal time._  
  
"If you’re spending your limited personal time getting self-defense lessons without telling the team, then yeah, you’ve got some explaining to do, Felicity," he says, taking a loud exhale.  
  
"Digg knows. I don’t think Roy cares," she responds, not quite believing her inner ramblings made it out of her mouth. Again.  
  
"You tell Diggle and you don’t tell me?" Oliver asks, hurt. Like she kicked his puppy. "Why?"  
  
"Well, Digg has always been the one who trained me. And what kind of person would I be, if I insisted he spent time away from Lyla and little Angela to continue training me. So he introduced me to Marco and Trevor. He knows them from his military days. They came highly recommended, and they’ve proven that they totally deserve such recommendations," she answers.   
  
"And you didn’t think to ask me?" Oliver says, quietly. Like she not only kicked his puppy, but poked both its eyes out.  
  
"Oliver, you have too much on your plate. Arrow business. Looking for Thea. Getting QC back. Dealing with Ray Palmer. Providing vigilante support to Barry. Training Roy and Laurel," she states, "How could I ask you to add more to your plate by including my self-defense lessons to your list?"  
  
"I could have made time for you, Felicity," he insists.  
  
She shrugs, looking down, not believing his claim. He doesn’t have time for her, she knows that. That’s why they agreed after their disastrous first — and only — date that they would just remain friends and teammates. Because he had other priorities in his busy life that were more important than anything that could have been between the two of them. And she refused to be another obligation on his list.  Or someone who made his already difficult life, harder. Or someone he broke his non-killing vow for. A liability and a chore.   
  
He takes a step closer to her, “If you asked me, I would make time time, Felicity.”  
  
"I would never ask you, Oliver," she sighs.  
  
"I know, I really hate that about you," he whispers, "Why didn’t you tell me, Felicity?"  
  
"Because it’s none of your business, Oliver!" she exclaims, stepping away from him, "It’s not! What I do in my own time is no concern of yours! And I decided that I needed to have some self-defense skills, so I’m taking lessons! For myself!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why, what?"  
  
"Why did you want to take self-defense lessons?"  
  
She lets out an exasperated breath, “Because I would be stupid to not have those skills, given what we do, Oliver! I need to be able to defend myself. I can’t rely on you or Digg or Roy — heck, even Laurel! — to protect me! To defend me! When I’m perfectly able to acquire the skills necessary to do so for myself!”  
  
Oliver meets her outburst with silence. He doesn’t take his eyes away from her. His jaws are clenched, his right thumb and forefinger rubbing against each other, simulating the act of knocking an arrow. He looks agitated and hurt.  
  
Finally, he says, “You don’t trust me.”  
  
"I do, Oliver! I trust you with my life!" Felicity approaches him, not able to stand seeing him this way, but also needing to stand her ground, "This thing with Marco and Trevor, this is about me, OK? It’s not about you, Oliver. Please don’t take it personally. It’s a self-improvement project for me, think about it that way. It has nothing to do with you."  
  
"If it had nothing to do with me, why did you keep it from me? Do you think I’m so horrible that I would stop you from doing this? Or that I wouldn’t find the time to train you, myself?"  
  
"I don’t want you training me, Oliver!"  
  
He looks at her in shock, his left hand going straight to the middle of his chest, absently soothing the sharp pain at her words, “Why?”  
  
Felicity’s tears fall at the sight and the sound of him. She never meant to hurt him. But she also wanted to stop hurting herself.  
  
"We agreed, remember? That we weren’t going to … pursue anything more between us. I knew three things after that conversation. That I had to get over you, Oliver. That I had to stop hoping that you’d change your mind about me, about us … But I also knew that changing your mind about us was a bad idea. You were so angry when I got hurt, you almost broke your vow. I don’t want to be the reason, the person, that would cause you do that, Oliver. Being a hero, finally believing that you are one, made you so happy. I loved seeing you that way. I don’t want to be the one who would cause you to doubt that again, Oliver … And I knew that to not be that reason, that person, you would have to stop seeing me as someone to be protected, defended, avenged. Someone who was weak. I am trying to learn how to not be so weak. But I can’t learn with you, Oliver. Because I can’t … stand such proximity with you. Not for now."  
  
He drops his eyes from her and nods, his left hand still rubbing his chest. Everything she was saying hurt, broke his heart. He can’t believe she thought that of herself.  
  
"Felicity," he begins, lifting his head to look her in the eyes again, "You are the least weak person I know. You are the strongest, bravest, most courageous human being that I’ve ever met. I protect you, I defend you, and yes, I will avenge you, not because I believe you to be weak. I do, and will continue to do those things because I love you. You are the most precious, most important, most loved person, creature, aspect, part of my life. You are it for me, Felicity. I will never love anyone as much as I love you. So go ahead, train, get tough, learn how to fight, prove to yourself that you are not weak. But know this, that won’t change my need to protect you. It won’t change how I feel about you. And that it’s you that you are proving yourself to, Felicity. Not me, not the team. _You_.”  
  
He moves closer to her and reaches his hands to cup her face, his thumbs wiping away tears from her cheeks. He leans forward to kiss her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her chin, and finally her lips.  
  
"When you’re ready, Felicity, I would be honoured to spar with you."  
  
————————————————  
  
Three months later, Felicity changes into her workout gear, sits on the training mats in the lair, and waits for Oliver.  
  
When he sees her, he smirks then wordlessly heads to the bathroom to change into his own workout clothes.  
  
"Ready?" he asks as soon as he steps out of the bathroom. He’s shirtless and his eyes are twinkling. Felicity bites her lower lip in anticipation.  
  
She nods, and then they begin.

**Author's Note:**

> Original post: http://outoftheclosetshipper.tumblr.com/post/95574922753/olicity-prompt-dont-say-that-felicity-dont


End file.
